Over the last nine years, IH has identified over 1500 Ismaili heritage sites across 56 countries around the world. Of these, we have documented over 1000 in 28 countries, and every year the project identifies additional sites to document.
Some of these sites are old, beloved, and familiar. Cities, castles, forts, mosques, mausolea, palaces, and universities are just a few examples of obvious relevance from our history, as are more recent Jamatkhanas, Darkhanas, and Ismaili Centres.
But many other sites are new, surprising, and unexpected, and still hold meaning and significance for us today. Shrines, parks and gardens, bridges, procession routes, and diplomatic sites are a few examples.
And these are in addition to the sites that constitute all the various buildings and institutions of The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), such as hospitals, schools, newsrooms, factories, and infrastructure projects, and the enormity of the vital work they do across so many fields of human endeavour.
All these sites show us how the Ismailis, as Shiʿas, as Muslims, have made and continue to make a difference to where, when, and how the community live, work, and create.
At IIS, the work of the Ismaili Heritage project led directly to the publication of Farhad Daftary's The Ismaili Imams: A Biographical History in 2020.
IH's research and documentation work will feature increasingly in: